Holiday Cheer

As we're in the midst of the late fall/early winter holiday season, I think it's fitting that I discuss an article I came across this afternoon. The Champions Sun in Houston, TX featured an interview with two elderly women who are relatively new residents of the Hampton at Willowbrooke Brookedale Senior Living. In the interview, the two women discuss how their holiday experiences have changed over the years, but the holiday cheer has not faded in any way.

Hampton at Willowbrooke Brookedale Senior Living

One of the interviewees explains how she loves the way her new home has dealt with the holiday season because her and the other residents have been kept busy hanging lights, wrapping gifts, and participating in other holiday functions that the home has organized in the past few weeks. Keeping these traditions alive has allowed the residents at this particular establishment to enjoy the holiday season in a new way and to forge new friendships amongst themselves. What better way to get to know other residents than gearing up for the holidays? Although some traditions, like having an exclusive family dinner at home, may be unattainable due to health complications, etc., these two women explain how, although their experiences of changed, they are still just as excited about celebrating the holidays as they were when they were little girls.

Stories like this are very encouraging to hear, especially around a time of year that is so important for so many individuals. I think that the efforts made by this particular nursing home should be replicated by all assisted living establishments because they make the residents feel comfortable by keeping them busy and active through traditions that are so dear and familiar to them. Making the switch from your own home to a senior living home can be a very dramatic and taxing step and it is essential, especially around the holidays when everyone should be in good spirits, to keep the residents at these homes active and involved with each other through holiday themed activities and gatherings. If I had a relative who resided in a nursing home, I know that I would be a lot more at ease if I knew that my loved one was occupied participating in enjoyable holiday cheerfulness. There is certainly no reason that aging should take away from the enjoyment of the holiday season as there is certainly no reason that making the move to senior living should mean that these great holiday traditions should fade away.

This is one example of how technology (in this case, the nursing home) can help the aging process. It also can help make us more comfortable knowing that if we cannot use traditional assistive technologies (like some of the others I've discussed in this blog) in a way that allows our elderly loved ones to stay in their homes, at least we know that senior living establishments do have some promising aspects.